


High Rock

by loudspeakr



Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: Childhood Memories, Friendship, Gen, Home
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-14
Updated: 2016-04-14
Packaged: 2018-06-02 03:37:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,941
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6548992
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/loudspeakr/pseuds/loudspeakr
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Link goes home for the holidays and sees a familiar face.</p>
            </blockquote>





	High Rock

The chill of an early December morning begins to set into Link’s limbs when he checks the sky for storm clouds, pulling his jacket in closer around him. He’s back home in North Carolina for the holiday season, having spent the past couple of days seeing family and old friends. Gently closing the front door behind him, so as to not disturb his sleeping family, he sets off down the street, his rental car left frosty and untouched in the driveway.

Link begins to whistle a tune as he turns at the end of the road, revelling in the sensation of crisp fresh air in his lungs and blood pumping through his veins. He’s been cooped up indoors for far longer than he’s comfortable. It’s been a tough winter, and today should be the first time he’ll see a North Carolinian sun since he returned from the west coast. He recalls Rhett mentioning something to that effect the day before they both left Los Angeles, that weather reports were predicting heavier snowfall than in previous years. It didn’t bother him; he would choose the feeling of snow under his boots over the squeaky clean concrete of LA sidewalks any day.

When he reaches the turn-off into the trees, Link notices the path is more overgrown than he last remembers. A younger Link would traipse down this track so often that it were as if the branches knew not to grow where he trod. But even with the fresh snow and new foliage covering the ground, Link can still make out the track he would take down to the river as a boy.

The trek is harder now that Link has grown up; his body is bigger, broader, and he’s finding that he needs to duck and weave a lot more to make it through. His children would have no trouble hiking this trail and he’s sure they would have enjoyed coming with him to see their daddy’s favourite spot, but something had stopped him from waking them this morning. The rocks were a sacred place for he and Rhett as kids – they still are – and he isn’t ready to share it with anyone else just yet.

A few more minutes pass by, only the sound of crunching snow and leaves underfoot to fill the silence, until Link hears a familiar trickling of water. Around him, the trees become less and less dense, and there in the clearing before him is Cape Fear River. Link can’t help the smile on his face as he approaches the riverside and stands right up at the water’s edge. It’s still here, it’s still beautiful. He takes a moment, closing his eyes and listening to the life around him. For a second, he forgets how much time has passed since he was last here, how much has happened to him since he left North Carolina. He’s a child again, and this is home.

Opening his eyes, Link heads down along the river, being careful not to slip and fall in. It happened once long ago when they were kids; it was cold like today, and the freezing water soaking into his clothes was enough to prick tears at his eyes. Rhett had given up his jacket to keep his friend from shivering, something Link recalls he never thanked him for.

He continues to traverse the land, damp earth turning to hard stone, until finally Link sees them, the rocks. Apart from the flowing water from the gentle rapids behind him, the air is still and almost reverent as he sidles up to the high rock. Time hasn’t touched it since he was last here.

This is where he and Rhett had some of the most important conversations they would ever share. The rule was that whoever sat on the high rock had the floor to speak, and the boy on the low rock had to sit and listen. It was an impressive rule, considering they’d been children when they formulated it. Here they talked about their lives, present and future: their girl troubles, going to film school (which didn’t end up happening), whether they’d still be friends as adults (which actually did). They shared secrets, dreams, and their worries here. It was in this spot that they decided to become blood brothers, to sign their names in crimson on a piece of paper that Link would lose two years later along with his wallet.

It’s beginning to feel unnatural, sitting here in silence after having said so much in the past.

“Hello,” he says aloud to nobody in particular.

“Is it me you’re looking for?”

The voice startles Link out of his reverie, causing him to lose balance atop his perch, but he manages to catch himself by planting his feet on the ground below, his hands pressed firmly against the rock beneath him to steady himself. Regaining composure, he turns to find a laughing Rhett emerge from the tree line behind him. A tuft of his usually-styled dark blond hair peeks out from under his woollen beanie, his hands casually tucked into his pockets.

“That’s a first,” Rhett chuckles, walking up to his friend. “Pretty sure neither of us have fallen off that thing before.”

Link is pouting, a touch indignant, as he hoists himself back up. “Well, there’s a first for everything.” Before Rhett can reply, Link abruptly pulls his hand back from the rock and hisses in pain. “Dang it.”

There’s a sizeable scratch, seemingly deep but not too serious, on his right palm. Tiny red beads begin to form on the surface. Link feels the earth lurch, swaying suddenly.

“Whoa, man!” Rhett jogs the last few steps and catches him, his hands tight on Link’s shoulders. “You alright?”

Though his vision is blurring at the edges, Link focuses on his friend’s face. Rhett’s brow is furrowed with concern, but what captures his attention is how ridiculously pink the apples of Rhett’s cheeks are against the brush of his hair. He lets out a high-pitched giggle.

“Yeah, I’m good.” Rhett waits a second before dropping his hands. Adjusting his glasses, Link breathes in deeply to clear the subsiding panic. “What are you doin’ here, brother?”

Settling down on the low rock, Rhett squints up at him. “I could ask you the same thing.”

“Realised I hadn’t been back here for a while. It sure hasn’t changed.”

“When _was_ the last time we were here?”

Link shakes his head. “Not a clue, man. But it’s been years. Maybe back when we were filming-”

“ _Looking For Ms Locklear_ ,” Rhett finishes.

“Yeah.”

It’s a little while until someone speaks again, the pair letting the quiet cleanse the bustle of Los Angeles living from their systems. It’s turning out to be a nice day, Link notes, as he sees the clouds part to reveal the blue beyond. In fact, it’s perfect out here.

“So,” Rhett starts, his tongue darting out to wet his lips. “You gonna start or what?”

“What?”

“You’re on the high rock. Start talking.”

“Oh,” Link laughs. “I didn’t really have anything prepared.”

“Well, if you’re not gonna-” A wild hand in Rhett’s face cuts him off.

“No, no! I’ve got things to say.”

It’s silly now that they’re adults, but the high rock still holds an air of superiority between them. Link isn’t about to let it go that easy.

“Uh,” he pauses, his finger coming up to press on his lower lip. “Work’s going okay.”

Rhett guffaws, doubling over. “I know! I work with you, remember? Is that really the best you’ve got?”

“No,” Link retorts, puffing out his chest. “I’ve got loads more.”

Rhett leans back and crosses his arms, watching as his friend visibly struggles for a topic to talk about. He clears his throat. “Well?”

Link throws his arms up in frustrated defeat. “Nothing! What do you got then?”

“Oh, uh...” Rhett’s smug grin falters as he realises.

“Exactly! Difficult, isn’t it?”

“What did we talk about back then?”

“You know... Girls.”

Rhett smirks. “Yeah, and?”

“School?”

“We can’t exactly talk about that now, can we?”

Link shifts slightly, the hard surface he’s sitting on becoming increasingly more of a nuisance without the distraction of conversation. He lets out a white cloud of condensation.

“How’s the family? Mama Di?”

Rhett tugs at the glove on his hand. “Good, real good. The old girl’s still kicking. My ass, that is.” He grins when he hears Link chuckle. “Oh yeah, she and Jessie had some good fun at my expense yesterday. Ma found some old photo albums hidden in the shed. Jessie was in tears.” Link’s wiping away a tear of his own when Rhett taps him on the knee. “How about your mom?”

“Never better. She's real glad to see her grand-babies. They’re all gonna spend some time together today. No doubt there’ll be cookies baking by the time I get back.”

Rhett looks out over the water beside them. “I should come around then, pop in and say hi. It’s been a while.”

Link’s already looking down at him when Rhett meets his gaze. It’s clear they’re both thinking the same thing, that it’s surreal being here again. Just the two of them with nowhere else to be, talking and laughing like old times, back when they had scraped-up knees and homework to worry about. Now they’re grown men with full-time jobs, kids to feed, and mortgages to pay, barely a moment to themselves. Rhett has a beard now and a fragile back, and Link can’t go too long without needing his glasses. Not to mention the fact that they now both live thousands of miles away from here, from home.

While they had talked of their grand plans for the future, little Link would have never guessed that they would move away, to Los Angeles of all places. He couldn’t have foreseen how well facial hair would suit Rhett’s face, or that they together would have a loyal audience watching their antics on computers and phones around the world. It would have all been too big, too crazy for their young minds to comprehend. Turns out there's a vast disparity between what they had thought was possible for them and what became real.

But despite that, no matter where they are, Rhett can still send Link into fits of giggles with his absurd jokes, and Link still surprises Rhett with his relentless energy and will to see things through. They still go camping and find new hobbies to share, still travelling together and writing silly songs. More importantly, they still make awkward recordings of themselves – they’re just videos instead of cassette tapes, and now they’re for the whole world to see.

At the end of the day, Rhett still has hazel eyes, and Link’s are blue. And the rocks are still here, waiting for them when they need to get away.

Maybe things haven’t changed as much as they thought.

“Hey,” Rhett whispers.

“Yeah?” Link is calm when Rhett suddenly cocks his brow mischievously like he does whenever he gets an idea. It’s a habit he had as a kid and still has now.

There’s a pause, and then, “Race you back to your place!” And Rhett’s up and away, a giant lumbering man running with reckless abandon. It’s a ludicrous, heart-warming sight to behold.

Link launches himself from the high rock, mentally saying his goodbyes to this place that he loves so much.

“Head start! Not fair!” He yells after his best friend, the boy in him squealing with delight, and sets off sprinting towards home.

He’ll need to come back here more often.

They both do.

**Author's Note:**

> So I finally watched Looking For Ms Locklear, and I loved the scene of the two of them explaining the high rock and low rock. And seeing where they came from only made me adore their friendship even more. Hence this fic! ^_^
> 
> Also, YAY THEY HIT 10 MILLION SUBSCRIBERS/900 GMM EPISODES/1 MILLION INSTAGRAM FOLLOWERS AND THE FEELS ARE TOO MUCH TO CONTAIN. So, so proud to be a Mythical Beast!
> 
> Thanks for reading, and please leave me some feedback below!


End file.
